Before the advent of modern weapons, man needed a means of survival agains his enemies.  He taught himself to run, jump, throw, hold, punch and kick.  in this way. prehistoric man developed techniques that are employed in Jujutsu, aikido, judo karate, wresting and sumo.

Evidence in the authorized chronicle of Japan (Nihon Shoki) shows that a contest held in 230 B.C. was a close contact martial arts fight.  The contest was held between Takemi-kazuchi-nokami and Takemi-nakata-no-kami.  Takemi-kazuchi-no-kami took his opponent's arm joint and threw his opponent to the ground.  He was made ruler as a reward.  Another very bloody contest was held between Nomino-sukune and Taimano-kehaya.  Nomino-sukune hit his opponent's chest with his hand, threw his opponent onto the ground, and kicked him to death.

The account of these fights is the earliest record we have of Jujutsu.  Later, Jujutsu (or yawara) appeared in literature in the "Once upon a time tales" (Konjaku-monogatari) of the 11th century.  Over the centuries Jujutsu was called by such names as kumiuchi, kogusoku, taijutsu, wajutsu, torite, koshinomawari, hobaku, etc.  Because the warriors of these accounts wore armor, the techniques consisted mainly of knocking down and then harming their opponents.

Jujutsu became more formally organized in the latter half of the 16th century, and various ryu (schools or styles) were created between the 17th and 19th centuries.  According to Tomiki^2, there were 179 styles of Jujutsu during this period.  In those days, the warriors wore light dress, and many Jujutsu techniques employed were joint techniques.  Warriors trained for physical skill, but the buiding of one's character was of the utmost importance as Jujutsu players came strictly from the military class of Japanese society, or the Samurai.³